Ricky Ponting to lead Mumbai Indians

Mumbai Indians have appointed former Australia captain Ricky Ponting as their captain for the sixth edition of IPL, which starts from April 3.

Ponting, who retired from international cricket at the end of 2012, was bought at the base price of $400,000 during the player auction earlier this month. Despite the buzz circulating around Sachin Tendulkar to be re-appointed as the captain ahead of the auction, the new Mumbai think-tank of mentor Anil Kumble and coach John Wright have zeroed-in on Ponting to lead the side.

Mumbai explained the change of heart through a media statement. "Ricky has a lot of experience to lead a competitive and a high-profile side like Mumbai Indians in the IPL," Kumble said. "Sachin readily agreed to my suggestion that Mumbai Indians is best served when he leads the batting unburdened by the rigours of captaincy. It was our idea (Sachin and mine) to bring in Ricky as the captain of the Mumbai Indians."

However, Mumbai's tactics of creating a buzz around Tendulkar to be re-instated as the captain were termed as an "eyewash" ahead of the auction. "Mumbai Indians were not the only team who were interested in Ponting at the auction. So just to take the attention away from the former Australia captain, it seems they would have adopted the strategy of floating Tendulkar's name as the captain [on the eve of the auction]," an official from another franchise said.

Ponting, however, was looking forward to the new responsibility. "It's a huge honour and I thank Mrs [Nita] Ambani and the Mumbai Indians management for the faith they have reposed in my abilities. Mumbai Indians has the potent combination of Indian and international cricketers and I look forward to leading the team to play to its full potential," said Ponting, who made a brief appearance for Kolkata Knight Riders in the inaugural IPL edition in 2008.

The owners of the Mumbai franchise, IndiaWin Sports Pvt Ltd - a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Ltd - were delighted to have Tendulkar and Ponting as a potential opening partnership. "On behalf of the Mumbai Indians family, I welcome Ricky Ponting to the team as the leader of the side," said Nita Ambani. "Today we have world's two biggest cricketing greats in Sachin and Ricky, and I am sure the duo will be an inspiration for the youngsters in the team. Sachin will always be an integral and important part of Mumbai Indians' leadership. Ricky will bring in fresh perspective in the team leadership and will have the support of the best cricketing minds like Sachin, Anil and John Wright."

Though they are at the fag end of their career, would be wonderful to watch Ricky and Sachin bat together. A ravaging pull would be matched by an aesthetic cover drive. It would be a delight for the cricket lovers around the world. Mumbai Indians command respect this season thanks to these two legends.

POSTED BY
class9ryan
on | February 21, 2013, 14:57 GMT

What Mumbai have done is reduced their options of drafting some foreign players into the playing XI ... Ponting being the captain cant be removed , Pollard and Malinga are certainty ... it means they have 8 overseas players 2 select one spot ...
Surely I dont support Mumbai anymore though i love Rayudu and Johnson

POSTED BY
dhoni_sachin_fan
on | February 21, 2013, 14:19 GMT

ponting is a good choice for a captain, but the problem here is when ponting plays and malinga and pollard are sure to play in all matches, there is only one open position that has to be filled in by maxwell, johnson, smith, blizzard, franklin, oram, hughes, coulter-nile. most of these guys will be warming the bench through the tournament

POSTED BY
on | February 24, 2013, 19:13 GMT

Well as i have seen him playing him in Big bash this year he was fantastic and its good for mumbai team to have some legend like pontig in their team well lets see what happens in future :)

POSTED BY
on | February 24, 2013, 12:07 GMT

Good decision Mumbai Indians can win IPL-2013

POSTED BY
on | February 23, 2013, 11:34 GMT

it's good move for Mumbai Indians to appoint as Pointing as their captain i am happy to see to great legends batting together

POSTED BY
SamPayne
on | February 23, 2013, 4:17 GMT

Ponting & Malinga are now confirmed for 2 foreign slots . Remaining 2 foreign slots could be toss up between Pollard, Maxwell, Smith & Johnson. Pollard has not done anything special for last 2 seasons. I would prefer to go with smith & maxwell. Smith also can bowl couple of overs & maxwell gives a option of 3rd spinner & plays spin well. Johnson can come in on faster pitches (like Mohali). Also unlike Pollard, both Smith & Maxwell can open if required.

POSTED BY
on | February 22, 2013, 19:09 GMT

MI is gonna rock the world this year!!!!!!

POSTED BY
Avi56
on | February 22, 2013, 19:01 GMT

ok guys give me a break seriously...to all those people who think Rohit sharma is the best choice for Mi captaincy... First of all Let me give you an insight...Sharma played 35 T20I and managaed to score 531 runs at an average of 27...Ponting played in less than hallf those matches (17 matches) and scored 400 plus runs at an average of 28...so technically Ponting is a better t20 player at an international level..Secondly, Mumbai indians can never hold the middle order togaether burdening Sachin to clear the loop holes...Now there is one of the deadliest middle order batsman in the history of the game..AND NOW MAINLY..CONSIDERING PONTINGS LATEST FORM IN BIG BASH LEAGUE...PONTING WAS HOBART'S HIGHEST RUNS SCORER...so Ponting is the best choice...but mumbai will never lift the IPL cup ever so why to argue

POSTED BY
on | February 22, 2013, 17:49 GMT

MI will win, they have the better team

POSTED BY
on | February 21, 2013, 15:07 GMT

Though they are at the fag end of their career, would be wonderful to watch Ricky and Sachin bat together. A ravaging pull would be matched by an aesthetic cover drive. It would be a delight for the cricket lovers around the world. Mumbai Indians command respect this season thanks to these two legends.

POSTED BY
class9ryan
on | February 21, 2013, 14:57 GMT

What Mumbai have done is reduced their options of drafting some foreign players into the playing XI ... Ponting being the captain cant be removed , Pollard and Malinga are certainty ... it means they have 8 overseas players 2 select one spot ...
Surely I dont support Mumbai anymore though i love Rayudu and Johnson

POSTED BY
dhoni_sachin_fan
on | February 21, 2013, 14:19 GMT

ponting is a good choice for a captain, but the problem here is when ponting plays and malinga and pollard are sure to play in all matches, there is only one open position that has to be filled in by maxwell, johnson, smith, blizzard, franklin, oram, hughes, coulter-nile. most of these guys will be warming the bench through the tournament

POSTED BY
on | February 24, 2013, 19:13 GMT

Well as i have seen him playing him in Big bash this year he was fantastic and its good for mumbai team to have some legend like pontig in their team well lets see what happens in future :)

POSTED BY
on | February 24, 2013, 12:07 GMT

Good decision Mumbai Indians can win IPL-2013

POSTED BY
on | February 23, 2013, 11:34 GMT

it's good move for Mumbai Indians to appoint as Pointing as their captain i am happy to see to great legends batting together

POSTED BY
SamPayne
on | February 23, 2013, 4:17 GMT

Ponting & Malinga are now confirmed for 2 foreign slots . Remaining 2 foreign slots could be toss up between Pollard, Maxwell, Smith & Johnson. Pollard has not done anything special for last 2 seasons. I would prefer to go with smith & maxwell. Smith also can bowl couple of overs & maxwell gives a option of 3rd spinner & plays spin well. Johnson can come in on faster pitches (like Mohali). Also unlike Pollard, both Smith & Maxwell can open if required.

POSTED BY
on | February 22, 2013, 19:09 GMT

MI is gonna rock the world this year!!!!!!

POSTED BY
Avi56
on | February 22, 2013, 19:01 GMT

ok guys give me a break seriously...to all those people who think Rohit sharma is the best choice for Mi captaincy... First of all Let me give you an insight...Sharma played 35 T20I and managaed to score 531 runs at an average of 27...Ponting played in less than hallf those matches (17 matches) and scored 400 plus runs at an average of 28...so technically Ponting is a better t20 player at an international level..Secondly, Mumbai indians can never hold the middle order togaether burdening Sachin to clear the loop holes...Now there is one of the deadliest middle order batsman in the history of the game..AND NOW MAINLY..CONSIDERING PONTINGS LATEST FORM IN BIG BASH LEAGUE...PONTING WAS HOBART'S HIGHEST RUNS SCORER...so Ponting is the best choice...but mumbai will never lift the IPL cup ever so why to argue

POSTED BY
on | February 22, 2013, 17:49 GMT

MI will win, they have the better team

POSTED BY
MrJack
on | February 22, 2013, 11:49 GMT

I strongly disagree this. Pointing is very good ODI and Test Batsman. But Not good T-20 Player.I think rohit is very young and easily approchable with Seniors for Captaincy. Ponting is not feet to T20 please change captain............. I disappointed to Anil Kumble

POSTED BY
Pushpak-Martin
on | February 22, 2013, 11:34 GMT

It will be definitely an eye catching glimpse to see the undisputed best batsman Mr.Sachin Tendulkar to play under the undisputed best captain Mr. Ricky Ponting. Hopefully everything goes well for Mumbai Indians. All the very Best Mumbaikairs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

POSTED BY
on | February 22, 2013, 10:36 GMT

Considering the 3 certain foreign players are Ponting, Malinga and Pollard. It will be fun to see who fills the 4th spot. According to me it should be between Franklin & Maxwell depending upon the pitch condition. On slower tracks like Kolkata & Chennai it should be Maxwell and on faster track it should be Franklin

POSTED BY
on | February 22, 2013, 9:16 GMT

i think its a good move. many people here are saying that it will reduce the options. but i think its exactly what MI needs.In all previous sessions problem with MI was they were unable to find an stable team , like trying every possible man as opening partner of Tendulkar and hence non stable middle order.
This will give them stable Line up.

POSTED BY
Thefakebook
on | February 22, 2013, 8:15 GMT

Punter is a great choice.He did a great job with Hobart Hurricanes.Its Punter time.

POSTED BY
srinath_f_o_john
on | February 22, 2013, 7:59 GMT

I strongly disagree this. Pointing is very good ODI and Test Batsman. But Not good T-20 Player. And also he was very good captain when he had Warne, McGrath, Gilly and few good players. But for indian conditions he is not fit. I think rohit is very young and easily approchable with Seniors. And Pointing didn't performed in T-20. And he occupied Foreign player slot as well.

My choice is ROHIT SHARMA.
He didn't failed even a single IPL session

POSTED BY
Paddy789
on | February 22, 2013, 7:01 GMT

any team can play only 4 foreign player, Ponting being the captain cant be left out, Pollard and Malinga are surely in. Coulter-Nile should play all the matches as he is good with Bat n Ball. Then the question is Why did we spend so much to buy Maxwell ??

POSTED BY
on | February 22, 2013, 6:55 GMT

Dilemma... Imagine the race to fill in the other 3 foreign slots...

POSTED BY
KnightTemplar
on | February 22, 2013, 6:12 GMT

A good moved for MI (Anil Bhai, SRT and John wright. These 3 knows very well about cricket). Last year they lost because poor caption skills. Ponting is one of the best captain of cricket history and a g8 records in short form (in T20 also - 28+ Avg and 130+ strike rate). People are talking what if he fails, but think if we appoint GOD as a captain and what if he fails. Before starting the tournament how we can say that if he fails and he not. Why we are talking this rubbish thing now? In last IPL they need WK batsman and they brought Dinesh and now they want Captain and they brought Punter. It's a g8 moved by MI and they are strong team now.

POSTED BY
on | February 22, 2013, 5:25 GMT

Yes. Seems to be a big mistake. The reason is probably use the glamour of the name Ricky Ponting. And this is why we Indians are not making real use of the tournament called IPL. Every country is playing such tournaments with same nature. But we hardly see any drawbacks to that country players. The reason is every country always focus to the advantage to their local players not to overseas players. Here we are totally lacking this attitude. What point in making Ponting captain of MI. Test the skills of local quality players. Give captaincy to Rohit Sharma, Ambati Raydu. It will be huge booster to them that players like Sachin, Ponting are playing under their leadership. It is definately help to improove there maturity at international level. All overseas players are now using IPL to have more & more experience of Indian conditions. Remember hiw Peterson blasted at Wankhede in last Engand tour. Very sadly we are not focusing on our players like Rohit, Ambati and others.

POSTED BY
Ind_cric_lover
on | February 22, 2013, 4:32 GMT

Had Ponting been an Indian he would have been still playing international cricket because of all this pressure from external forces(read IPL, ads etc) . Just like our poor sachin !

POSTED BY
Rohan0309
on | February 22, 2013, 3:58 GMT

I think this justifies the idiom "to shoot yourself in the foot". I was desperately looking for a line which would say this is an April Fool's joke 1.5 months in advance. How is it justified Ponting takes the place of an overseas player when we have players like Johnson, Smith, Pollard, Malinga, Maxwell and Oram in the team? A foolish move by the think-tank.

POSTED BY
JBSA
on | February 22, 2013, 3:31 GMT

Every one is throwing out that its been a wrong decision as it blocks other players or praising as because of Ponting past captaincy record

First of we have to know, it was Steve Waugh who built up the Ponting's Australian team. With the arrival of Hussey it got boosted up. Even before the team entered, Buchanan would ve told who should bowl which overs. Ponting just made sure it was followed including the fielding decisions. Thats why Ponting slipped when his players got retired or when the team was in tight decision. But we have to admit he is a powerful striker of the ball and his spin weakness was in the tests

Keeping in mind, only Pollard and Malinga was automatic choice in the playing XI, his presence wouldn't affect much. Might be Maxwell has advantage with his spin over other pace all rounders Smith, Franklin, Johnson

Have u all forgotten a Ponting who had the habit of tearing all Indian bowlers apart once?? He truely is the most potential Captain of all time... It is truely arguable to choose him as Captain of a T20 Domestic team... But If Ponting can't do it no one will... MI and Sachin will have no problems in accepting Ponting to lead them from the front... He will do good...

POSTED BY
jonesy2
on | February 22, 2013, 2:37 GMT

great decision and pretty obvious one to give the most winningest captain and the greatest champion in the history of cricket the captaincy. this mumbai team will be looked back on in years to come as legendary folklore with ricky and sachin batting together and playing together

POSTED BY
on | February 22, 2013, 2:25 GMT

so stupidity to compare pollard with batting legend r.ponting...he was the best captain in cricket world for 10 yrs with holding record and record...if pollard play 1000 odi even he cannot reach ponting feet...mumba is lucky to have genious and atlented team leader in team

POSTED BY
on | February 22, 2013, 0:40 GMT

Every IPL MI do more and more mess why would you even buy ponting far less make him captain of the side. Seems to me they have no intention to win the tourney.

POSTED BY
Meety
on | February 21, 2013, 23:49 GMT

Bit bemused by the talk about Punter not being a good buy. We are talking about a bloke who has won 3 w/Cups (admit in 50 over format), but has one of the best pedigrees as captain in the short forms of the game (ever). His career international T20 sees an ave of 28 & S/Rate over 130. Of players that have scored 400 runs or more in International T20s, I make it only about a dozen players have better combined stats then Punter (S/R & ave). Not to mention he is still arguably amongst the top 3 or 4 fielders in the world, so all that adds up (IMO) to a pretty good buy for $400k.

POSTED BY
on | February 21, 2013, 23:32 GMT

dont be jealous if a foreign player is appointed as captain ricky pointing is one of the greatest captains look at his record as australia captain so once again dont e jealoue.
javed USA.California.

POSTED BY
TendulkarDgr8
on | February 21, 2013, 22:47 GMT

This is a really stupid decision... I accept Punter is a great batsmen but Ricky Ponting wont even make the final 11 of the MI t20 team based on merit... To bring him in just to lead the side is a big mistake...

POSTED BY
Unmesh_cric
on | February 21, 2013, 22:00 GMT

I reckon this is a huge blunder from the MI camp. Ricky Ponting is not getting any younger; so making him a captain is not a long-term solution. Also, it locks up a foreign player spot in the playing XI. What if Ponting is going through bad form? It creates a weird situation in that case where the captain needs to be dropped to accommodate another foreign player. No matter how great a batsman is, age catches up with most players. Instead of Ponting, I think MI should have gambled with Rohit Sharma as captain. Who knows being given a responsibility may have actually helped Rohit.

POSTED BY
BRUTALANALYST
on | February 21, 2013, 21:33 GMT

Mumbai always had problem with opening 6 overs and Sachin not clicking or getting good starts, they tried so many combinations and finally the got it right with Dwayne Smith and now they're replacing him with Ponting ? this is stupid if they wanted to get attention they should of just got LARA as a coach or something and made Sachin captain then have Pollard Malinga Smith an Johnson/Maxwell as oversees stars if a couple of them fail then Franklin - this is terrible for M.I and neutral fans alike

POSTED BY
on | February 21, 2013, 20:02 GMT

HEIGHT OF STUPIDITY!!!! ROFLMAO!!!! First of all, to think that they executed a gr8 strategy to pull off the auction bid for punter... is awful... so was maxwell.... its IPL with same rules ( XI playing with 4 non indians) I really feel, they just dont wanna have any other teams to hv good players.. so they keep biddin till they win and have all the good players in the kitty. SICK strategy..so non sportive. In any which case.. they vl not win IPL...

POSTED BY
Darshi007
on | February 21, 2013, 19:43 GMT

Forgot to mention the keeper for my playing XI, Dinesh Karthik instead of Jalaj Saxena in the playing XI mentioned below.

POSTED BY
Darshi007
on | February 21, 2013, 19:03 GMT

That's a really poor decision.Now it will create a situation of what happened with Vettori at RCB and with Sanga at DC. The captain will be dropped after a few bad games and then there will be multiple captains for the entire tournament.
Ponting was not even a certainty for the starting XI, how can he be made the captain. Waste of a foreigner slot. I don't think Maxwell can even make the playing XI now, why buy him for $1million? Malinga and Pollard are certainties for every game. So that leaves only 1 slot remaining and Maxwell, Dwayne Smith, Mitchell Johnson, James Franklin would be fighting for it. Smith would have been a much better choice to partner Sachin as an opener as we saw towards the end of last season but now he might not even get a place with Ponting eating up one slot.
The first 6 overs will continue to haunt Mumbai with Sachin and Ponting as openers.6 overs 30/0.
Playing XI (now) : Ponting,Sachin,Rohit,Rayudu.D.Smith,Pollard,J.Saxena,Bhajji,Dhawal/Ojha,Malinga,Munaf

POSTED BY
torsha
on | February 21, 2013, 18:26 GMT

If Ponting is in top 11 for all the matches then who will sit out from foreign players? Pollard? lol

POSTED BY
Paras.Rishi
on | February 21, 2013, 17:59 GMT

Ricky Ponting is the worst player of spin, can't play T-20 cricket match, starts throwing bat when he gets out these days. Poor decision to have such a liability in the squad forget team!

POSTED BY
Aussasinator
on | February 21, 2013, 17:51 GMT

ponting will be a disaster. he is a known failure as captain. who takes such silly decisions?

POSTED BY
crkt4evr
on | February 21, 2013, 17:45 GMT

its a very wrong decision which im sure wil b a regrettable one...they should hav given it to someone else mayb to a youngster!

POSTED BY
crkt4evr
on | February 21, 2013, 17:41 GMT

MI cetainly cant hav both ponting n sachin in X1...ponting am sure wil knw tht n as a captain he would certainly like to do something about it but he obviously will not have tht power hence MI hav created problems for themselves.... ponting wil not hav independence....and since both r in X1 there batting to wil get affected hugely...sorry but i fell MI r in fr one more disappointing season for sure!

POSTED BY
binu.emiliya
on | February 21, 2013, 17:13 GMT

Poor Rishi Dhawan & Jalaj Saxena! They will warm the bench for he full season like Surya Kumar yadav and Amitoz sing two exiting players in he last season . Now those two players will jon this years most exiting two allrounders Rishi and Jalaj!

POSTED BY
InsideHedge
on | February 21, 2013, 17:12 GMT

What's the point of buying so many overseas players when you are restricted to 4 per match? As others have pointed out, Ponting is now guaranteed one such spot, a poor T20 player, MI is immediately weakened, and then you have SRT, a player well past his prime who also happens to be undroppable. There's no way this Dad's Army outfit can win the IPl (again). Pollard will come in in the 18th over and expected to hit 50 off 12 balls but he's sure to be given his full allotment of 4 mediocre overs.

POSTED BY
Scheduler
on | February 21, 2013, 16:50 GMT

Harbhajan was not fit for the role at the first place. Its not always aggression that makes the leader but a leader who can control aggression and yet be destructive with his decisions. This is a smart move from MI think tank of kumble and John wright.I hope they win this time

POSTED BY
xylo
on | February 21, 2013, 16:34 GMT

There is some hope for Mumbai Indians, after all. Now, if Ponting can drop Tendulkar from his XI, that would give them the best chance.

POSTED BY
on | February 21, 2013, 16:32 GMT

Mindless MI. By this Step....1 out of 4 Valuable Overseas Player slot will be filled up.
3 left. Malinga, Pollard, Dwayne Smith/Franklin (in good form).

In that case..why the hell they bought Maxwell for $1million?
Most Irresponsible Franchise in using the money and Players.

Remember last season, bought Richard Levi...hardly had any impact.
Same stupidity in their every move.
Wats the reason for buying Nathan Coulter-Nile?

I am pretty confident Maxwell also flops like as Levi.
This team always lived by just individual performances..be it Rohit/Rayudu/Malinga.
It can never be a team.
Hope Ponting brings in some changes.!!

POSTED BY
BRUTALANALYST
on | February 21, 2013, 16:01 GMT

Now all they need to do is to sign Lara as batting coach then you have the holy trinity

POSTED BY
anur8g
on | February 21, 2013, 15:46 GMT

now i am going to support MI. Punter True Legend

POSTED BY
SL_Boy
on | February 21, 2013, 15:45 GMT

this would be excellent, Ricky is an excellent caption this what missing in this side

POSTED BY
on | February 21, 2013, 15:41 GMT

Its nice to watch 2 legends perform for same team. Its good choice by MI... Thanks MI.

POSTED BY
A.Ak
on | February 21, 2013, 15:36 GMT

Sachin is not a great leader like Saurav or Dravid or Kumble. Ponting has led big names in his national team. He is tough and brave. Good choice.

Ridiculous. That takes one spot from the overseas players just like that. Mumbai will have to hope that Ponting bats out of his skin to prove his place in the playing XI.

POSTED BY
Uppercut07
on | February 21, 2013, 15:04 GMT

so indians themselves ADMIT Ricky Ponting is more valuable to a team due to his leadership, than Sachin Selfishkar??

POSTED BY
MadhushaDmendis
on | February 21, 2013, 14:57 GMT

he isn't the best choice for MI captaincy it should have gone to Rohit sharma ... He have a future career not to ponting

POSTED BY
shrastogi
on | February 21, 2013, 14:53 GMT

So finally some sanity prevails at MI.

POSTED BY
vinodzz
on | February 21, 2013, 14:52 GMT

This is INDIAN Premier League... foreigners dominating and leading the teams is not fair... dat too 4 a big star team like Mumbai INDIANS ... shame

POSTED BY
on | February 21, 2013, 14:45 GMT

yes now mi got great captain.now i support mi and sunrisers

POSTED BY
fakird
on | February 21, 2013, 14:45 GMT

It will be interesting to see two legends computing in the same side...

POSTED BY
Guyvillageman
on | February 21, 2013, 14:42 GMT

I think that it will be a tough struggle for Ponting, He is a great captain who is accustomed to players who are for the most part very mentally tough and very desciplined.

Time will tell, I wish him all the best .

POSTED BY
wolf777
on | February 21, 2013, 14:34 GMT

I will put my money on Indians...

POSTED BY
Sadhanand
on | February 21, 2013, 14:26 GMT

Wow...what a decision...Punter is a legend...he is captaining MI...we can expect some fireworks...way to go...superb...Punter..wish you all the best..be victorious...

POSTED BY
BRUTALANALYST
on | February 21, 2013, 14:19 GMT

Ponting has upset the balance and I'm not sure he still has it M.I didn't need another batsman it would of been ok if he was Mentor/Coach but both he and Sachin in an 11 is not going to be good. Smith Malinga Pollard Maxwell/Johnson are 4 great t20 options I don't see how this is going to work out well only having 3 of those available and the IPL as a whole missing out on some great players that will be sidelined from the action.

POSTED BY
on | February 21, 2013, 14:18 GMT

Dont think its a right move...Because now being a captain it implies ponting will play the whole season...and we all know nobody would dare drop tendulkar...so now u have two guys in their late 30's....not such a great combination for T20

POSTED BY
vswami
on | February 21, 2013, 14:17 GMT

Its a silly decision. Both Sachin and Ponting will contribute but at this stage of their careers arent going to be match winners. With Malinga and Pollard certainties, they have left themselves with very little leverage to maximise their overseas players. MI could have won every one of the previous IPL editions, but have consistently made poor selection decisions both in auction as well as their playing line ups.

POSTED BY
nzcricket174
on | February 21, 2013, 14:16 GMT

If Mumbai don't win with this roster, they need to take a long, hard look at themselves. Not only do they have arguably the best roster in the competition, they have what is most likely the best coaching combination, along with team chemistry.

The thing that bugs me is all the foreign players who are going to miss out. Franklin, for instance, has been one of their best players over the past two seasons. Despite shaky consistency, he has performed at key moments. Like in 2011, when he almost single-handedly won the Champions' League Final.

POSTED BY
realfan
on | February 21, 2013, 14:14 GMT

i am sure mumbai will end up in the last place in the FAIR PLAY award... even though it may end up winning.... it may loose its respect by many fans.... sory to say but MI wont be MI with ponting in it as captain....he will ruin its reputation....

POSTED BY
A.Awal
on | February 21, 2013, 14:12 GMT

I memorize all the team names every year in IPL and found another one new and someone out. One franchises gone for controversies and another one produced. Very good. A league which is going almost two months and ICC given the window to do that. All hell BCCI.

POSTED BY
on | February 21, 2013, 14:09 GMT

Nice choice to lead Mumbai 11

POSTED BY
on | February 21, 2013, 14:06 GMT

wat ever happens............the champ is here............kkr..........every one knws dat wat dey did in the last year...........the same thing will do in this year also..................."come on kkr"

POSTED BY
BRUTALANALYST
on | February 21, 2013, 14:01 GMT

I liked Dwayne SMith opening best for M.I with Sachin, Smiths power from ball 1 is great and his fielding along with Pollard saves about 20 runs each game ! they had finally switched to this opening pair at the end of last season after trying dozen of combinations with Sachin, the best game for me was this one at the end when they beat RR by 10 wickets Smith was 87 not out with 10 4's and 3 6's and Sachin 58 not out. I;d still go for that with Ponting at 3 and Pollard.Smith and Malinga as other stars Maxwell is so overrated but I guess due to this money he will play but I really wouldn't have him ahead of Smith / Pollard or Malinga in t20 anywhere.

POSTED BY
luvcricket_new_gen
on | February 21, 2013, 14:00 GMT

MI have hit the nail on the head. What an awesome strategy to draw in more crowd! Mouth watering. Ricky and Sachin together and definitely Ricky's presence in the field and as a captain will be way better than any effect that would be produced with a captain like bhajji. Good move and looking forward to MI games. From a Chennaiwasi

POSTED BY
Kushalagr007
on | February 21, 2013, 13:53 GMT

The worst decision that MI could have taken, now they are left with only 3 foreign players slot out of which Malinga & Pollard are almost certainity for most of the matches and that leaves only one slot for 8 contenders which include some of the T20 specialists in Maxwell, Dwyane Smith, franklin,Johnson, Coulter-Nile,Oram,Blizzard & Hughes. What would happen of the million dollar baby Maxwell? Will he even get a chance to play? And the bigger question is if Ponting doesn't perform well, will they drop him and then who will captain the side? Surely Rohit Sharma should have been a better option and in other teams also young Indian Players should be appointed the captain as it will enhance their leading skills and they will have some of the top players from around the world to help them out.

POSTED BY
ThumpingWin
on | February 21, 2013, 13:53 GMT

Great news!! :):):):)... Go on Ricky you are the best captain ever.. You will do great just play freely like you did in Big Bash League.. Dont take more burden you have already done enough..

POSTED BY
TRAM
on | February 21, 2013, 13:51 GMT

It would have been better if he is non-playing captain. Both his batting and fielding had come down prior to his retirement. The only factors favoring him are that the tournament will be on flat tracks and *mostly* 2nd rate bowlers. The great Hayden & Gilchrist faded off when age and lack of top level exposure caught up, and why would Riky or SRT be any different?

POSTED BY
Master_Mihil
on | February 21, 2013, 13:50 GMT

Mumbai indians is a safe haven for world stars when they are not doing so good. I recall malinga was only put into SL side after an injury because of his strong performances in Mumbai indians. If not for IPL malinga would have never be such a sought after cricketer..

POSTED BY
on | February 21, 2013, 13:38 GMT

The very thought of the presence of RICKY in the Mumbai Team--more so now as its Captain--is awesome, fearsome .. he's such a FEROCIOUS PLAYER ON THE FIELD -- NONE CAN MATCH HIS INTENSITY -- The other teams shd be quite nervous to see him on the field ??

POSTED BY
on | February 21, 2013, 13:37 GMT

The foreign line-up would now consist of Ponting, Malinga, Johnson/Courtier-Nile, Maxwell. Where will they fit in Levi, Pollard, Smith, Franklin or Peterson? Sheer wastage of money, duh!

POSTED BY
Jayzuz
on | February 21, 2013, 13:36 GMT

Captain or not, Ponting has been in great form of late. Good news for MI.

POSTED BY
rhysdai
on | February 21, 2013, 13:32 GMT

Excellent decision. Tendulkar and Ponting will both be better for this decision and so MI will benefit.

For those saying that ponting would not have been a guaranteed foreign player, just look at his performances in Australia over the past few months. He has not lost it. He will be an asset. Whilst it does mean that Oram, Coulter-Nile, Smith, Hughes etc might not get much of a look in, that's no bad thing if the team are winning. With a proper captain they now have the most compelte team in the IPL.

Openers to get Mumbai off to a solid start. middle order to go hard and a real quality bowling attack. Bowling options for all conditions as well and only negative I can possibly see is not many left handers (not a major deal).

Mumbai to finally win the IPL.

POSTED BY
30-30-150
on | February 21, 2013, 13:24 GMT

Interesting decision. This could affect the balance of the team.

POSTED BY
Shasheen
on | February 21, 2013, 13:22 GMT

MI needed a storng Captain.... Ricky is the one...
Good Decision....

POSTED BY
ravi_hari
on | February 21, 2013, 13:20 GMT

The risk of having an overseas player as captain is that you are limiting your choices to 3. If the captain is a specialist like Ponting it becomes more difficult to balance the side. The reason why CSK or KKR or MI have done consistantly well is due to Indian captains. Though Warne and Gilchrist have won the tournaments in the 1st 2 editions after that it has been difficult for teams to cope with overseas captains. Ponting is ageing and will he add value to the side apart from fielding is a point for discussion. They need to sacrifice a batsman like Rayudu to accommodate him and that is unfortunate. Ponting can definitely add value with his experience and approach but will it really help MI to win the title this time, only time will tell

POSTED BY
prateek.naza@gmail.com
on | February 21, 2013, 13:15 GMT

Well..Not a very good move....MI will be short of 1 foreign player talent now.....Maxwell, Smith, Pollard & Malinga were the good choices for 4 overseas players in XI. Moreover, he is out of form which led to his international retirement. He should have been appointed more for a Mentor's role rather than Captain. Anyways, it willl be good to see Sachin & Punter play 4r d same team...

POSTED BY
JohnnyRook
on | February 21, 2013, 13:12 GMT

i don't think it is good decision. They don't even know if he will be in best 4 foreign players or not. Anyways I always wanted to see Sachin bat with Ponting and Jayasurya. I may hate IPL a lot but I gotta admit it has already given me one wish and it is going to give me the other one soon. Now if at all they can rope in Lara too :)

POSTED BY
krishheturi
on | February 21, 2013, 13:10 GMT

wow now mi may get their first title

POSTED BY
RyjuDilna
on | February 21, 2013, 13:10 GMT

Yes he is a all time great no 2 words about it , but in this format iam not sure he will have a permanent place in the side ,but ill be be glad to see Ponting on song ...

POSTED BY
on | February 21, 2013, 13:08 GMT

Worst News for MI..................

POSTED BY
sandy_bangalore
on | February 21, 2013, 13:04 GMT

Loved his aggressive captaincy before, but not sure how this is going to work out! Tendulkar, Ponting, Harbhajan, Pollard...without dount,MI is the most interesting team in this years IPL

POSTED BY
on | February 21, 2013, 13:01 GMT

I'm going to watch IPL now and support Mumbai Indians ;)

POSTED BY
JeewanD
on | February 21, 2013, 13:00 GMT

Mumbai Indians need to learn to un-complicate things and begin to enjoy their cricket. I feel that Mumbai Indians feel like they have to win every IPL they play. This should not be the case, once they just being to take things easy, stop too much experimenting they will get the results they need.

POSTED BY
Dashku
on | February 21, 2013, 12:55 GMT

I don't understand why foreign captains!!! It will reduce 1 chance to pick from 4 foreign players. Anyhow, after long time Ponting back to Captain. This time captaining Sachin. Im not fan of MI but want to see Sachin & Ponting play together.

POSTED BY
nikhilchaubal
on | February 21, 2013, 12:54 GMT

thats the worst decisions MI could have taken, their idle side with 4 foriegn players would have been ponting/maxwell, pollard, johnson and malinga but with punter as skipper it seems it will either be maxwell or johnson with both being utility players

POSTED BY
QingdaoXI
on | February 21, 2013, 12:54 GMT

So out of 4 foreign players Slot 3 slot are fixed now with 1. Malinga 2. Pollard 3. Ponting (Captain) so rest of the eight players will be rotated as per the pitch conditions, and million dollar baby Maxwell might end without playing a single match as there are Smith, Franklin and Johnson ahead of him in queue. Hughes and Blizzard and Counter-nile too will get very little opportunity or no. Why on earth they made foreign player captain as if Ponting fails 2-3 it will be very hard to replace captain in tournament. Forign captain looks only good when there are atleast 5 foreign players or if he is the best of the lot and desrevs to play all the matches on his form, performance and stature.

POSTED BY
on | February 21, 2013, 12:54 GMT

good news ricky ponting to lead mumbai indians

POSTED BY
gnanzcupid
on | February 21, 2013, 12:53 GMT

Nice move. Best man to lead the team. Interesting to see how he manages bhajji

POSTED BY
on | February 21, 2013, 12:51 GMT

I am not very happy with the captaincy being given to Ricky Ponting. While I am not doubting his credentials, your captain has to be that guy who is certain to play in all the games. With guys like Pollard, Malinga, Maxwell, Dwayne, Oram and Mitchel around, Ricky will be made to earn his place. So, on any day I would vote for an Indian. Why not encourage guys like Rayudu, Rohit or Dinesh Karthik to the helm? Or am I missing a crucial link here. Are MI think tank planning to play Ponting in all the matches?

POSTED BY
on | February 21, 2013, 12:51 GMT

Good Move in my Opinion!

Ricky is one damn very good Captain!

POSTED BY
Mahfuz_Rahman91
on | February 21, 2013, 12:42 GMT

Interesting... Definitely a risk. Not sure it's gonna work out. What difference does it make anyway?

POSTED BY
on | February 21, 2013, 15:07 GMT

Though they are at the fag end of their career, would be wonderful to watch Ricky and Sachin bat together. A ravaging pull would be matched by an aesthetic cover drive. It would be a delight for the cricket lovers around the world. Mumbai Indians command respect this season thanks to these two legends.

POSTED BY
class9ryan
on | February 21, 2013, 14:57 GMT

What Mumbai have done is reduced their options of drafting some foreign players into the playing XI ... Ponting being the captain cant be removed , Pollard and Malinga are certainty ... it means they have 8 overseas players 2 select one spot ...
Surely I dont support Mumbai anymore though i love Rayudu and Johnson

POSTED BY
dhoni_sachin_fan
on | February 21, 2013, 14:19 GMT

ponting is a good choice for a captain, but the problem here is when ponting plays and malinga and pollard are sure to play in all matches, there is only one open position that has to be filled in by maxwell, johnson, smith, blizzard, franklin, oram, hughes, coulter-nile. most of these guys will be warming the bench through the tournament

POSTED BY
Mahfuz_Rahman91
on | February 21, 2013, 12:42 GMT

Interesting... Definitely a risk. Not sure it's gonna work out. What difference does it make anyway?

POSTED BY
on | February 21, 2013, 12:51 GMT

Good Move in my Opinion!

Ricky is one damn very good Captain!

POSTED BY
on | February 21, 2013, 12:51 GMT

I am not very happy with the captaincy being given to Ricky Ponting. While I am not doubting his credentials, your captain has to be that guy who is certain to play in all the games. With guys like Pollard, Malinga, Maxwell, Dwayne, Oram and Mitchel around, Ricky will be made to earn his place. So, on any day I would vote for an Indian. Why not encourage guys like Rayudu, Rohit or Dinesh Karthik to the helm? Or am I missing a crucial link here. Are MI think tank planning to play Ponting in all the matches?

POSTED BY
gnanzcupid
on | February 21, 2013, 12:53 GMT

Nice move. Best man to lead the team. Interesting to see how he manages bhajji

POSTED BY
on | February 21, 2013, 12:54 GMT

good news ricky ponting to lead mumbai indians

POSTED BY
QingdaoXI
on | February 21, 2013, 12:54 GMT

So out of 4 foreign players Slot 3 slot are fixed now with 1. Malinga 2. Pollard 3. Ponting (Captain) so rest of the eight players will be rotated as per the pitch conditions, and million dollar baby Maxwell might end without playing a single match as there are Smith, Franklin and Johnson ahead of him in queue. Hughes and Blizzard and Counter-nile too will get very little opportunity or no. Why on earth they made foreign player captain as if Ponting fails 2-3 it will be very hard to replace captain in tournament. Forign captain looks only good when there are atleast 5 foreign players or if he is the best of the lot and desrevs to play all the matches on his form, performance and stature.

POSTED BY
nikhilchaubal
on | February 21, 2013, 12:54 GMT

thats the worst decisions MI could have taken, their idle side with 4 foriegn players would have been ponting/maxwell, pollard, johnson and malinga but with punter as skipper it seems it will either be maxwell or johnson with both being utility players

POSTED BY
Dashku
on | February 21, 2013, 12:55 GMT

I don't understand why foreign captains!!! It will reduce 1 chance to pick from 4 foreign players. Anyhow, after long time Ponting back to Captain. This time captaining Sachin. Im not fan of MI but want to see Sachin & Ponting play together.

POSTED BY
JeewanD
on | February 21, 2013, 13:00 GMT

Mumbai Indians need to learn to un-complicate things and begin to enjoy their cricket. I feel that Mumbai Indians feel like they have to win every IPL they play. This should not be the case, once they just being to take things easy, stop too much experimenting they will get the results they need.